When I started the Plano Prairie Garden blog almost three
years ago, it was intended to be an anonymous journal of the transformation of
my front yard from a manicured lawn to a semi-controlled prairie garden filled
with prairie grasses and flowers. My plan was to produce this blog as evidence
that my prairie was an intentional endeavor and not just the result of laziness
in the event I was ever reported to city code enforcement officers for
violating the 12 inch height limit for grass and weeds. Thankfully, I have yet
to receive a citation for any kind of violation.
I never thought anyone else would see this blog. I should
have known better since it is on the World Wide Web. It did not take long
before other garden bloggers discovered this blog and linked to it from their
blogs. People began commenting and leaving words of encouragement. Last year,
my anonymity was shattered when Curtis Ippolito published a story about my
prairie garden in the Dallas Morning News. Last month, acclaimed garden
blogger, Pam Pennick, posted photos and a write up about my prairie on her
blog, Digging.
So on this Thanksgiving Day, I want to give thanks to all that support my prairie garden/wildlife habitat adventure.
Thanks to the anonymous viewers of this blog. Like you, there are many blogs
that I enjoy reading on a regular basis, but never leave a comment. Thanks to all the people that do leave a comment. Your words of encouragement mean so
much. Thanks to my fellow garden bloggers that link to this blog from their
own. That means as much to me as words of encouragement. I do plan to
reciprocate by setting up a page on my blog with links to your blogs. Thanks to all the gardening friends I have made along the way.
Happy Thanksgiving Day!
P.S. More photos of seasonal color coming soon...
P.S.S. For anyone that tried to view the original post this morning. The original post was scheduled for publishing at 7AM. When I got up and realized I had a nice foggy morning for taking pictures, I retracted the original post and added new photos. Then I started changing the text, then I had problems with Blogger, then blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So here it is...finally.
And I thank you for both your native garden and your wonderful blogts. I often forward a post to a friend or two whom I'm encouraging to grow more native plants.
ReplyDeletePeople can grow natives in pots, front and back yard and volunteer to get native gardens growing at schools, churches, and libraries, and other public buildings.
And if they are not from your area, they can find plants native to their areas in the data base at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. And they can filter for the kind of plants they want, as well as water and sun requirements.
Happy Thanksgiving to you!
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks beautiful on a foggy morning. Nice to see while taking a break from cooking and visiting.
In the midst of my cooking, I caught a glimpse of that amazing foggy photo of your garden and had to stop and look! I love fog...it adds so much mystery and depth...your garden looks awesome today! Happy Thanksgiving :-)
ReplyDeleteThis anonymous has you in my reader. So I read both the old, and this new misty post.
ReplyDeleteCame via Pam @ Digging.
Happy Thanksgiving from Diana
Amazing beauty and color is your misty prairie garden today. You have much to be thankful for, for sure! I'm thankful to have found your blog among the multitudes! Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving. I was curious about your reasons for staying so low key and now I know...your blog was to document in case of getting reported! LOL Judging from the two photos it would be a crime NOT to like your prairie way of gardening. David/ :-) (one of your biggest fans!)
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to remain anonymous when you're putting such inspiring content out there. ;-) It really was a huge treat to meet you recently and see your garden in person.
ReplyDeleteLove your foggy photos. Your blog has become a go-to resource.
ReplyDeleteTo all: one thing I forgot to mention was a thanks to you for your blogs. It is always a pleasure to visit your gardens and get inspiration for things I can do in my garden (not that I need help thinking of more things to do).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your work as a Vagabond Volunteer, Marilyn. You look like you are having so much fun.
You are right. You can grow natives anywhere and make a difference. It is not necessary to go to the extremes that I did. You can attract butterflies with a pot of the right flowers.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Shirley.
Scott, it is a good thing you like fog. Don’t you get a lot of it up there? I was quite pleased with that first photo with my neighbor’s pecan tree in the background. It looks like it could be a picture from the countryside rather than a neighborhood.
Diana, I have no problems with you being anonymous. I do the same. Thanks for stopping by. I need to spend more time reviewing your wildlife garden in South Africa.
Toni, thanks for being another DFW blogger. We need more, but then that would be more time reading. There are so many good ones as it is that it is hard to keep up.
David, I am just a low key person in general. Of course, that is hard to believe since I am the one with a yard that stands out from all the rest!
Thanks Pam. It was a pleasure to meet you too.
Thanks Collagemama. I don’t know about being a go-to resource, but I think I can take a pretty flower or butterfly picture every now and then.
That first picture is amazingly beautiful with the yellows trailing foreground to aft and the tree emerging from the fog. I'd love to see it enlarged and printed on canvas.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is always an inspiration to me. If I ever get to garden in a place with soil, I'm going to dig through your archives and follow your footsteps.
The pictures are just awesome
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathleen. I have considered enlarging that picture.
ReplyDeleteYou have created a beautiful garden on your thin soil. I can't imagine you ever leaving.
Thank YOU for being so inspiring. I'm still not sure how our farm will evolve but I know that now , there's going to be a part of "prairie" in it, thanks to you.
ReplyDeleteAnd side note, I can't imagine anyone seeing the beauty that is that first picture and going "oh no, this is unacceptable", ha. Just gorgeous.
Thanks 1st Man. I bet if you look closely, you will find little bits of prairie on your farm that are just waiting for an opportunity to spread.
ReplyDeletei wandered here after googling the names/ID's of a few plants i saw at the florida caverns. love your garden...great wildflowers...prairie feel. over the past few years i have tried moving toward more native plants for my area of north central florida...in my gardens. a more wild look. natural.
ReplyDeleteanyway...i'll be back to wander more...thanks. glad i bumped in...
I love to see pictures of gardens like yours that use native plants. Thanks for sharing - anonymously or not.
ReplyDelete